Interactive Notebook Update & Random Funny

I realized the other day that I haven't updated with how our Interactive Notebooks in science have been going. Sooo.... it's actually been going really well! The first few days were pretty hairy, as students were getting into the routine of writing in their notebooks, but now whenever I tell them to get ready for science, the first thing they all do (seriously, ALL of them!) is get out their notebook and pencil, and wait for me to post the goal of the lesson. I am so surprised and impressed by how well my students are taking to their Interactive Notebooks! I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less! Here are a few pages of what we've been working on.

This was the first day. I gave them a picture of the MyPlate diagram, they colored, and then listed at the bottom two foods for each group.

The next day, we talked about eating a balanced diet. On the My Thinking side, I first asked them to write down what they had for breakfast. Then towards the end of the lesson, they went back and wrote what they could do better for tomorrow to ensure that their meal included more of the food groups. LOVE what this bunny wrote about his Pop Tart! :)

I also tied some of our Health Curriculum in, as we talked about rules for taking medicine. We made a list of medicine rules on the Information side and on the My Thinking side, students wrote ways to get healthy without taking medicine.

Then at the end of every lesson, they go to their Table of Contents page at the beginning of the unit and write the goal again. They write the page number in the left-hand margin and then rate their understanding in the right-hand margin. 1 means "I understand and could explain it to a friend." 2 means "I kind of understand." 3 means "I don't understand and I need more practice." I like this reflection piece.

We're learning about the digestive system this week, so I'll be back this weekend to show off more pics. Those will be more interesting I think, as they will have more diagrams and pictures of the organs and such!

OK, so this is completely unrelated to Interactive Notebooks... but I was cleaning off my reading table at the end of the day today and I spotted this no-name story. I snapped the photo with my phone, but trust me, it's worth the extra effort to try to read it:

HILARIOUS! I especially love the part about Sammie the dog. I have no idea why this was written or who wrote it, but I don't care because it made me smile. Although, the minutes don't quite add up, so this bunny will have to check his/her math tomorrow... Hey, at least s/he remembered to ask the question at the end!

About Me

I'm Angela. I'm a wife, a mom, and after spending 10 years teaching second grade, I finally graduated to third grade! I'm a passionate educator who believes strongly in building relationships with students and their families, using standards to drive my instruction, and using a workshop model to give my students a voice and a choice in their learning. I'm so glad you're here and a part of my teaching journey!